Read Online Within Striking Distance by Ingrid Weaver - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ingrid Weaver
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the Grossos until I’m more certain.”
“How will that happen? I mean, what else do you need to find out about me?”
He considered her question for a while. “Right now, one major issue left to resolve is the exact timing of your adoption. How close was it to Gina’s disappearance?”
“I don’t know how we can learn that without any records. My dad isn’t likely to cooperate.”
“I agree with you about your father. I don’t believe it would serve any purpose to approach him again at this stage. But I need to find out when you first appeared. It was definitely during the summer of ’78. The Grosso twins were born in mid-June.”
“My parents always celebrated my birthday on July 7th. That hasn’t seemed to bother you.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m aware that’s the date on your driver’s licence, but that doesn’t mean it was actually your date of birth. It could have been the date of your adoption, or just a date picked out of the air considering the lack of official information. If you are Gina, then your adoptive parents would have wanted to give you a false birthday to throw people off the track.”
Becky felt her pulse skip. If you are Gina. This was the first time Jake had used that phrase. It made the possibility more real, somehow.
“But there’s a problem,” he continued. “If your parents showed up with a baby shortly after Gina disappeared, why hadn’t anyone suspected them at the time? The police and the media had publicized the kidnapping. So had the Grosso family. NASCAR had been a small world back then. Someone should have noticed and made the connection.”
“Not if my parents didn’t show me around.”
“Possibly. They could have held off until the heat died down. There was a plane crash shortly after the kidnapping that diverted the media attention…” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”
“What?”
“I heard that your father showed baby pictures of you around the garage.”
“That figures. My mother took millions of photographswhen I was a kid. Every birthday and holiday, she’d be running around with the camera and snapping pictures until I saw spots from the flash. But how could that help?”
“For starters, we could get an idea of how old you were when they adopted you. If we’re lucky, there’ll be some background clue that would narrow down the dates.” He pushed away from his desk and grasped her shoulders. “Please, tell me you still have them.”
For a second, she couldn’t tell him anything. The sensation of his hands on her shoulders was overpowering everything else. His face was so close, she could feel his breath on her chin and could see the blue of his eyes was shot through with tiny flecks of green. Jake really had the most beautiful eyes.
She inhaled unsteadily. It didn’t help calm her pulse. Instead, she drew in the clove-and-spices scent of his aftershave and the earthy aroma of warm, male skin. Her gaze dropped to his throat. The top button of his shirt was open. It gaped as he leaned forward, giving her a tantalizing glimpse of his chest. A nice, broad chest, with a sprinkling of dark hair in the center…
“Becky?”
She yanked her attention back to his face. “I only have a few of the albums my mother put together,” she said. “My father took most of them with him when he moved to Australia, including all the ones with my baby pictures. But there had to have been more since my mom took so many. I grabbed a few cartons of stuff from the attic when he sold the house. I haven’t gone through all of them yet. The extra photographs could be in there.”
“Are they at your apartment?”
“Sort of. My landlady lets me store my extra boxes in the loft above her garage.”
“How soon does your flight leave?”
“Not until tomorrow evening.”
“Great.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Do you have plans for the morning?”
“Just some packing.”
His thumbs moved on her shoulders. It was too light to be a
“How will that happen? I mean, what else do you need to find out about me?”
He considered her question for a while. “Right now, one major issue left to resolve is the exact timing of your adoption. How close was it to Gina’s disappearance?”
“I don’t know how we can learn that without any records. My dad isn’t likely to cooperate.”
“I agree with you about your father. I don’t believe it would serve any purpose to approach him again at this stage. But I need to find out when you first appeared. It was definitely during the summer of ’78. The Grosso twins were born in mid-June.”
“My parents always celebrated my birthday on July 7th. That hasn’t seemed to bother you.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m aware that’s the date on your driver’s licence, but that doesn’t mean it was actually your date of birth. It could have been the date of your adoption, or just a date picked out of the air considering the lack of official information. If you are Gina, then your adoptive parents would have wanted to give you a false birthday to throw people off the track.”
Becky felt her pulse skip. If you are Gina. This was the first time Jake had used that phrase. It made the possibility more real, somehow.
“But there’s a problem,” he continued. “If your parents showed up with a baby shortly after Gina disappeared, why hadn’t anyone suspected them at the time? The police and the media had publicized the kidnapping. So had the Grosso family. NASCAR had been a small world back then. Someone should have noticed and made the connection.”
“Not if my parents didn’t show me around.”
“Possibly. They could have held off until the heat died down. There was a plane crash shortly after the kidnapping that diverted the media attention…” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”
“What?”
“I heard that your father showed baby pictures of you around the garage.”
“That figures. My mother took millions of photographswhen I was a kid. Every birthday and holiday, she’d be running around with the camera and snapping pictures until I saw spots from the flash. But how could that help?”
“For starters, we could get an idea of how old you were when they adopted you. If we’re lucky, there’ll be some background clue that would narrow down the dates.” He pushed away from his desk and grasped her shoulders. “Please, tell me you still have them.”
For a second, she couldn’t tell him anything. The sensation of his hands on her shoulders was overpowering everything else. His face was so close, she could feel his breath on her chin and could see the blue of his eyes was shot through with tiny flecks of green. Jake really had the most beautiful eyes.
She inhaled unsteadily. It didn’t help calm her pulse. Instead, she drew in the clove-and-spices scent of his aftershave and the earthy aroma of warm, male skin. Her gaze dropped to his throat. The top button of his shirt was open. It gaped as he leaned forward, giving her a tantalizing glimpse of his chest. A nice, broad chest, with a sprinkling of dark hair in the center…
“Becky?”
She yanked her attention back to his face. “I only have a few of the albums my mother put together,” she said. “My father took most of them with him when he moved to Australia, including all the ones with my baby pictures. But there had to have been more since my mom took so many. I grabbed a few cartons of stuff from the attic when he sold the house. I haven’t gone through all of them yet. The extra photographs could be in there.”
“Are they at your apartment?”
“Sort of. My landlady lets me store my extra boxes in the loft above her garage.”
“How soon does your flight leave?”
“Not until tomorrow evening.”
“Great.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Do you have plans for the morning?”
“Just some packing.”
His thumbs moved on her shoulders. It was too light to be a
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